The EU automobile industry worked hard to support the European Commission in developing the new WLTP laboratory test for measuring CO2 and pollutant emissions from cars and vans. WLTP introduces much more realistic and robust testing conditions than the previous, outdated lab test (NEDC).
This ensures that lab measurements now better reflect the on-road performance of a car. Future CO2 reduction targets for cars and vans, currently under discussion by legislators, will be based on baseline levels set by the WLTP tests in 2020.
The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) fully agrees that CO2 values should not be artificially increased on purpose in any way that would undermine the post-2020 CO2 targets. All parties should ensure that these future CO2 reductions will be delivered in practice and not through any optimisation of the testing procedure.
ACEA is committed to engage further with the European Commission and other stakeholders to help make the current regulation even more robust if that proves necessary. We generally agree with the three solutions proposed in the joint letter by Commissioners Cañete and Bienkowska. Once these solutions have been properly assessed, ACEA is ready to support their practical implementation in the most efficient and pragmatic way.
Clearly, the issue of artificially increasing WLTP figures is not an industry-wide problem. Indeed, increasing CO2 emissions on purpose to inflate the WLTP baseline would not only be counterproductive in the current CO2 discussions but may also hinder a manufacturer’s competitiveness. In fact, the majority of EU member states have a taxation scheme based on CO2 emissions and higher CO2 emissions would therefore result in higher costs for the customer – making such vehicles less attractive.
Manufacturers are also competing directly and fairly on fuel consumption values (which are directly related to CO2 emissions). Therefore, a manufacturer that would over-declare CO2 values could dramatically lose their competitiveness and market share, which is in no one’s interest.
